SET-UP DUE TO IRREGULAR WAVES

J.A. Battjes

Abstract

Energy losses in breaking irregular waves are estimated on the assumption that a wave, while breaking, loses only that portion of its height which would be in excess of the breaker height for the given wave period and the mean local depth. This leads to expressions for the magnitude of the radiation stresses as a function of the distance offshore. From this the variations in mean water level and the longshore current velocity are calculated with existing methods. Laboratory measurements of set-up in two dimensional irregular waves are described. The data appear to some extent to be internally inconsistent; this may be due to enclosed air bubbles.